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Originally posted by dmoolenaar
Z, am I reading this right? Folks who don't believe in God SHOULDN'T want to help others? FWIW, I went to a catholic high school in the 80's. I'd wager 25%, and that's probably conservative, of the kids there were total crap humans, guys who lied and cheated their way through life, drank, drugs, smoked, took advantage, abused, but still had the nerve to judge me cause I didn't go to Sunday service or believe in God. I see this everyday in my adult life too. Are these folks better off than I because they repeat the words, go to service, and tithe, yet... I live my life closer to the healthy teachings of the bible yet have zero ties to a religion and do no believe in a God? Tell me how this plays out at the pearly gates...if they exist?
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dmoolenaar; that's great that you lead such a balanced life. I'm sorry to hear about your class mates. To answer your question from my understanding of Christianity.
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Are these folks better off than I because they repeat the words, go to service, and tithe,
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No, absolutely not. Assuming for the sake of discussion that God will be there to meet them at the end of their life, he will be no more accepting of them they they have been for God, or God's teachings. Jesus made the very clear point that just going through the motions gets a person nothing. It's what's in their heart that matters. As you quickly discerned, chances are those folks are not on the right path.
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I live my life closer to the healthy teachings of the bible yet have zero ties to a religion and do no believe in a God?
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Since you do not believe in God, chances are you'll get what you expect in the afterlife (assuming once again for the sake of discussion that there is one). Since you don't believe in God, you've forsaken the opportunity to exist together with God, in a state of love after you die. Any post death existance will be empty. Now if deep down, you have doubts and maybe do believe in God, or are unsure, but you still have lived in accordance with his teachings, have tried to be a good person, loved others as yourself, are genuinely repentant of your screw-ups, etc, etc, then it will be up to God to determine your soul's fate. God can see into your spiritual heart and will recognize if you are a believer or not.